Perhaps you can help with board selection advice. My quiver is divided into two separate "packages".

I run 6.3 and 7.0 crossover sails on an older F2 Ride 279 which suits the local conditions when it gets lumpy. This would account for maybe 30% of my total sailing time.

Then I run 7.5 and 9.0, [ soon to be 7.5 and 8.5 ] freerace sails on two larger boards, a 1998 Starboard Sonic305, and a 2002 Go170. This would account for 70% of my sailing time. So I am biased towards the bigger gear, and have always prefered a board on the big side for a particular sail size.

The Sonic 305, [ 305x68x140L] is a lovely board with the 7.5, but it is getting on in age and the rails are on the sharp side. The Go170, [ 276x83.5x170L] is a lovely board with the 9.0, [ 8.5 ] and is still in mint condition.

I am looking at getting rid of the Sonic and Go in favour of the Go151 which on paper seems to be somewhere between these two boards. I would do this to get a board which is both newer and better suited to help teach me to jibe.

I hesitate because the Go151, as well as being narrower than the Go170 in overall width, has a significantly narrower tail and I fear losing too much low end planing potential. My questions;

1. Is the 151 THE board for 7.5 / 8.5 from the Go range, [ only Go or Carve available from 151 down].
2. Do you see a significant loss in early planing between the Go151 and 170 from 2002.

Hi Rod,
I have never sailed the new GO 151 so I may not be the best one to ask about this board.
I think you are on the right track, but when I look at the specifications, and what you seem to want, I come to a real impasse.
The GO 151 would seem to be the right board to teach your kids on as it has the center fin.
But it's quite heavy (significantly heavier than your GO 170 I believe).
AND, you are looking for a board that's really easy to jibe (learn to jibe on??).
The "easy to jibe" board, in that size range is the Carve 151, but it does not have the center fin.
I do know that wider is better for early planing, and tail width is also pretty important.
If it were me I would look for another board with a center fin, maybe a Start Small or something,
or get the side fins for your GO 170 and use that as a trainer board.
Sell your Sonic 305, and get a Carve 151 or better still a Carve 141.
Then you would have the best of both worlds.
Early planing and familiarity with the Go 170 (and you can use it as a trainer with the side fins).
Carve 151/141 which should practically jibe itself (I have the 2011 Carve 111 and that's a pretty fair
assessment of the new Carves..... they practically jibe themselves and tend to cruise through carve jibes
very easily.
Sorry I cannot be more help here, but I've never sailed the GO 151 or the Carve 151 so I'm using the
PR data + the specifications to formulate an opinion that may be correct for your situation, and then again maybe not.
I'm a little puzzled that you have not learned to jibe the GO 170.
Yes, the technique is a bit different as it's harder to set the rail on an 83.5 cm wide board, but if you figure out how far off center to apply your weight, the GO 170 jibes pretty nicely.
Roger

edit: as an afterthought, could i go the other way. instead of coming down in board size to tie in with the 6.3 / 7.0 on the old f2 ride, could i "bring up" the small board size by looking at, say, the carve 111?.

If that board works well with 6.3 and 7.0 and perhaps the occasional 7.5, 7 batten RAF, then a carve 111 / go170 combo could work well. i get to keep the trainer. i maintain my early planing threshold, and i get a "jibes itself" board.....

Hi Rod,
The Carve 111 ideas sounds the best to me.
Sorry to have delayed the response here, but I went sailing yesterday (9.1 Sailworks NX fw on the
Ultrasonic 147..... got planing pretty well in 8 knots of wind. Impressive!) and had to drive home 8 hours last nite (arrive here at the apt. @ 2:00 AM) so not enough hours in the day.
Roger

What sails do you use on the 111? I'm interested to know if it would take my 7.5 if it was too lumpy on the Go170 while at the same time being good for my 6.3. I think the 121 is getting too big as I know I will have trouble with it in solid 6.3 conditions. Where I sail the chop never gets above a couple of feet at most but it does get steep and close together, and depending on wind direction, can be at an awkward angle.

Hi Rod,
I've sailed the Carve 111 (2011) with a 5.5 Retro and a 6.5 Retro and it was very nice.
I see no reason that a 7.5 m2 won't work just as well.
I'll give it a try in a couple of weekends if the conditions are right.
6.3 m2 should be right in the middle of the sweet range on the new Carve 111, and you have the
Go 170 if it's a bit too light to get the Carve going on your 7.5 m2.
Do you have a set of the side fins for your GO 170?
Roger

How many holes (for the side fins) are in each side of your GO 170?
3 per side or 4 per side.
Do you know what year model your GO 170 is?
Should be in the first few numbers of the serial number :
SBG170xxxxx...................
I have a couple of sets that fit some of the GO's so if you can tell me how
many holes and the year model, I could probably ship them to you.
The tether could help your kids through the "can't stay upwind" part
of the learning curve, but I've never tried that. Much better if they learn
steer/stay upwnd independent of any tether line.
Roger